


This is the Night

by pene



Category: Dark Is Rising Sequence - Cooper
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-12-23
Updated: 2007-12-23
Packaged: 2017-10-05 01:17:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/36175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pene/pseuds/pene
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was a place the Old One in him remembered.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This is the Night

**Author's Note:**

> Loud thanks to Jae Gecko who broke through the canon barrier and provided her excellent editing meets cheerleading skills.

Some days, even ordinary days, Will Stanton caught himself thinking like an Old One. He noticed signs everywhere. He knew the intimate history of the ground under his feet. But thundering down the stairs two at a time he was thinking only of James, close behind him, and the single scoop of strawberry ice cream in the deep freeze.

Will bowled into the kitchen and paused. Mary was dropping scraps into the chickens' feed bucket. Their mother was sitting at the heavy wooden table. Mrs Stanton looked up from the letter she'd unfolded before her. There was a breath, like the air was separating into tiny golden parts, so Will was listening even before Mrs Stanton spoke.

"Isabel Gell's asking after you and James," Mrs Stanton said. She went on as she spread out a travel brochure from the envelope. "You remember Miss Gell, boys, that wonderful voice."

Will glanced at the brochure, and his attention was captured by the picture on the cover.

"The tall lady?" James asked his mother.

"I remember," Will said Mrs Stanton smiled at him. "She's invited you two to stay with her for a few days. And Mary too, if she'd like to." Mrs Stanton glanced at Mary doubtfully.

At sixteen, Mary was taller and quieter than she had been two years earlier. The Dark had aged her.

Will said, "Miss Gell lives on the Isle of Man, right? I've always wanted to go."

"Sounds cool," James said, always mildly enthusiastic about new places. He took a quiet step toward the deep freeze.

Mary looked briefly at Will's face then walked to her mother and leant over the brochure. Her yellow plait swung forward and back. "Okay," she said. "I'll go, too."

James planted himself at the table with the last of the ice cream. He looked predictably smug. But Will wasn't really focussed on ice cream now.

Will looked back down at the brochure on the table. On the cover grassy slopes fell away to the sea. A headland overhung them, and far off he could make out a shrouded mountain. He was meant to go there. It was a place the Old One in him remembered. It was Merriman's homesick place.

***

On the train to Lancaster, Will, James and Mary played euchre for lollies. By mid-morning they'd eaten all the sandwiches their mother had sent. James flipped through a history of the Isle of Man.

"There's a castle, guarded by a huge ghost dog," he said. "And look at this! The spire of this church, St Trinian's, was thrown off by some angry beast - a buggane, a sort of huge ogre."

"It was probably an earthquake," said Mary. She looked at Will as she said it, as though expecting him to disagree.

"They don't get earthquakes," said James confidently. "Though it could have been an engineering fault," he admitted. "I'm always wondering how these thousand-year-old buildings stay up for so long."

When finally they'd changed to the Heysham train, James was getting fidgety. He peered out of the window restlessly, looking for the Irish Sea.

"This is the longest trip anyone's ever taken," said James.

"I don't think so," said Mary. "Think of Francis Drake."

James rolled his eyes. "Are we near Heysham yet?" he asked irritably.

Mary pulled out the timetable from her bag and took a look.

"No, we're still miles away," said Will. James sighed loudly and went back to peering out the window.

As they neared the Irish Sea, Will watched the passing farms and towns. He tried to read signs into the landscape. Even to his eyes most of the cows looked like ordinary cows and the fields looked like ordinary fields, though sometimes the birds swooped in great arcs and loops and rode the wind like it was an ocean.

***

A huge ferry rolled on Heysham's harbour. Her name, Ben-my-Chree, was painted across her stern in fading cream on red. She was tied to great pylons either side of a wide metal ramp, which lay between the wharf and her deck. There were passengers crossing the ramp to board her.

When the Stantons reached the ticket window the man inside was distracted by a bird who'd flown into his office.

"Shoo bird!" he said. "Shoo!"

He flapped ineffectually in the air. The children swallowed giggles. When the bird had finally escaped through the door James was almost hopping with impatience.

"Three to Douglas, please," said Mary. "Children's fare."

They headed for the ferry.

She was a good ship, Will thought, but there was a weight in the air as he stepped toward her and his breath caught in his chest. He paused.

Two ferrymen reached to roll the ramp back onto shore. James plunged onto the wharf, calling, "Hie! Let us board." Will and Mary followed him.

Suddenly, "Wait," Will said.

Over the bump and groan of the boat against the quay there was a great crack. James stumbled and dropped his bag with a thud.

"James!" called Mary. Will reached to grasp his brother's arm.

The wharf seemed to tilt. The pylons shifted over the water and the sturdy metal boarding ramp crumpled like paper and dropped between the ferry and the wharf.

The echo of the crack faded and the ship settled to rock against the pylons once more. Will knew the danger was gone.

Two ferrymen rushed to check the hull for damage.

"Lucky for you that bird took it into its head to bump around the Ticket Office," said Mary to James. "You'd have been on that ramp otherwise."

"All clear," one of the ferrymen called, and the ferry's whistle blew long and loud. The children looked about in alarm. There was no longer a ramp to board.

"We have to get on," said Will firmly to the closest ferryman. The ferryman looked doubtful. He looked from James to Mary and finally at Will.

"Here," he said finally, "We've got a plank on board." He fed the slim wooden beam across the gap til it laid on shore.

Mary stepped gingerly onto the narrow plank. She turned back to look at Will.

"Don't worry, Missy, the sea's the safest place for you," said the ferryman. He looked at Will with clear, black eyes and Will nodded his head in thanks.

"Remember this," thought Will into the space between them.

***

The three children stood on the top deck of the ferry, facing the water. James shouted into the spray. Mary stood beside him, her hair whipping behind her. She scowled as it flipped back into her face. Will watched the charcoal sea. The Isle of Man rose like a storm cloud before the ferry. The sky above the Isle was strangely clear. The Isle looked naked, devoid of the mist Will associated with it.

The ferry pulled into Douglas Bay. Tall grey and white houses perched at the edge of the harbour and trailed up the grassy slopes of the Isle. In the harbour little boats butted against one another. To the north a stone tower, like a miniature fortress, sat firmly on a low slung rock surrounded on all sides by Douglas Bay.

"That's the Tower of Refuge," said James. "When the tide is high the waves reach halfway up those walls."

"What's it for?" asked Mary.

"Shipwrecks," said James. "To save stranded sailors."

Will watched the Tower with some disquiet. The place gave him no sensation, light or dark. He could not discern who had built it or who still held it. It was a strange absence in the midst of the bay.

***

On the dock Miss Gell stood taller than the other men and women waiting. She smiled at Mary, James and Will. A slight child with fine dark hair stood beside her.

"This is Fin," said Miss Gell, indicating the girl. Fin nodded to each of them with a disconcertingly adult look from one so young. "She came to meet you."

"Hello," said Mary politely. Fin smiled faintly.

"It's just a short walk up the hill," Miss Gell said.

The streets were uneven and the children's bags impeded them but Miss Gell kept a fair pace past the rows of houses. She pointed out landmarks as they walked.

"Snaefell," she said, pointing to a high peak. "You can see the seven kingdoms from her, if you've got the lungs for the climb."

"Seven kingdoms?" asked Mary.

"England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales," said James.

"The Isle of Man," said Mary.

"The sky and the sea," finished Will.

Miss Gell looked at him appraisingly. "That's what they say," she said.

They paused at the front gate of a tall stone house while Miss Gell struggled with the old door. A cat meandered towards them and leapt swiftly onto Mary's shoulder. Mary flinched a little. The cat was faded orange and white and tailless. He butted his head into Mary's jaw and purred. Mary smiled.

The door swung open and Miss Gell looked back. "He's a gentle old man, is Bert," she said of the cat. "Looks like he's taken a liking."

"He knows things," said Fin. She vanished into the house next door.

Bert leapt softly to the ground. He padded around Will to lead the three children into the house.

"Welcome," said Miss Gell seriously as they trooped in.

***

Inside, the house was as tall and thin as it appeared from outside. The hall in which they were standing was narrow, with doors leading four ways and a worn stairway circling into the heights of the house.

A lady opened the nearest door. She was smaller and slighter than Miss Gell, with a mobile, crinkled face and calm grey eyes.

"This is Miss Faragher," said Miss Gell.

"Will," said Miss Faragher, looking at him, "and Mary and James."

"We'll get you settled in first, and then we'll all have dinner," said Miss Gell.

The children's bedrooms sat just under the eaves. Mary's was tiny, the boys' only slightly larger, but the ceiling sloped to the edges of the room and Will felt a little at home. Their thick glass window looked out over Douglas Bay and the Irish Sea.

Dinner was sausages and mashed potato with Miss Gell and Miss Faragher. Over dessert, which James attacked with gusto, Will asked after Fin.

"She lives next door," said Miss Gell. "A bit of an odd little thing, but no harm. There are stories, of course, but Isle folk love to talk."

"Stories?" said Will.

Miss Faragher spoke up. "It was a long, long time ago."

Will glanced at Miss Faragher speculatively. Fin appeared to be all of eight.

"As a bitty child Fin's ma would leave the girl on her own. Her ma was poor and had to work, which is maybe understandable. And while she was gone folk would look in through the windows on the child. They say little Fin would be laughing and talking as though she was in the finest company."

"But she was alone?" asked Mary.

"Perhaps she found better company than the mortals."

"It's just a story," said Miss Gell firmly.

"Not that we'd blame her," said Miss Faragher with a twinkle, "there's fine company to be had if you know where to look."

"Now, what are you three interested in doing while you stay?" asked Miss Gell. Conversation moved on to cycling and hiking and the Hop-tu-Naa festival one night hence.

"It's an old tradition," said Miss Gell. "Older than All Hallow's Eve. The children carry turnip lanterns and go singing from door to door, dressed as monsters and goblins and witches. We give them cakes, just to quiet them."

Miss Faragher sang, quietly,

"Manannan-rem was son of Lyr,  
He was the first that e'er held her.  
'Twas with Wave Sweeper he'd incite.   
So would he know her ends and heights.  
'Twas with his sword that he did save,  
The sword which a true answer gave.  
'Twas with his Fiery helmet still   
and sure upon her highest hill.  
And on this Night when he heard tell  
The Dark all coming in the swell  
He hid her right round with a mist,  
the cloak far greater than a fist.  
This is the Night!"

There was a strange moment while the last long note of the song faded. It seemed as though the Isle herself was listening.

Then Miss Gell spoke. "It's a pretty song. Seems a pity to quiet it with cake."

Miss Faragher laughed quickly. The conversation turned to the mundane and soon Will, James and Mary were ready for bed.

"It was a long day," Mary explained as an apology for yawning. The three children headed up the stairway.

***

Once in bed, Will didn't sleep. He listened. The rhythm of the sea against the shore and the wind against the mountains almost obscured James' regular breathing from the next bed. Will felt his blankets, rough and heavy on his legs. He drew his hands under the covers near the warmth of his body. He pressed his feet against one another. He waited for the wind and waves to cease. Then Will stood.

As Will left the house, the cat watched him from the stone gateway. Will nodded to him.

Miss Faragher was waiting at the top of the street. She stood calmly, looking over the harbour.

"Will Stanton," she said as he stopped beside her.

"Miss Faragher," he replied.

"Calybrid," she said. "Call me Calybrid. I'm not so much older than you, in that sense." Her mouth quirked into a quick smile.

Fin approached. She walked lightly though she carried a sheath almost the same height as she was.

"And here is Fin, always swift, always late," said Calybrid.

"But always here," said Fin, "Which is more than I can say for some."

"Hush," Calybrid said to the girl. "We'll come to that later."

They walked through the streets and north toward the foot of Snaefell, the peak rising over the Isle. They approached a bridge, curving over a brook. The brook still burbled, though all else was silent.

"A fairy bridge," whispered Fin.

"Good morning," said Calybrid, as though talking to something below the bridge. She crossed quickly.

"An early good morning to you all," said Fin as she followed.

Will followed suit. "Good morning," he said politely.

***

A solid rock cottage stood at the foot of Snaefell. A young man waited outside. Will thought of Merriman, though Merriman was slim and this man was broad.

"You're here," said the man.

"We're here," said Fin crisply.

"Will Stanton," said Calybrid. "This is Aidan of the Helmet. Now we're all gathered, save one, and can tell you why we wish your help."

As Will knew it would, the story started with Merriman.

"Long past, this Isle was under the protection of Manannan mac Lyr," began Calybrid.

"I know him as Merriman," said Will.

"You do, yes. And I believe he has other names. He was powerful, and he had a heart for this Isle. But there were other forces at work in the world, as you well know. So when he was needed he left to take his place in broader battles. For the sake of this power, he gave up the right to ever come home again."

Will nodded. "He's homesick," he said quietly.

"I imagine that he is," smiled Calybrid gently. "Manannan left this Isle in the hands of four council members. There's this Aidan, Manannan's great nephew, to whom he entrusted his fiery helmet; Fin here, our changeling, who holds the swift sword, Answerer. There's myself, to whom Manannan left the boat called Wave Sweeper. Finally, there's our absent member, Eamon. Eamon has long held the cloak of mists with which Manannan first protected the Isle from the forces of the Dark."

Will sang lightly.

"And on this Night when he heard tell  
The Dark all coming in the swell.  
He hid her right round with a mist,  
The cloak far greater than a fist."

"That's why we need you," said Fin quickly. "The cloak is lost. We've looked and we've looked as best we can. Calybrid searched the near seas and Aidan and I searched the Isle. But we don't know where Eamon is."

"And the Dark is coming," said Will.

"We've been safe for long ages. But without Eamon and the Cloak we do not know how to stop it," said Calybrid.

Aidan said, suddenly, "Something comes." Will felt it too, the soundless distant cry of the advancing Dark.

"We do not have much time," said Calybrid.

Fin looked out the window, her little girl's frame belied by the sharp eyes. "Yes, something is close," she said.

Calybrid said urgently, "Hop tu Naa, Will. This is the Night. If the Dark is coming, they will come tomorrow night."

"Though sooner than that if we don't escape this dog," said Fin, still looking out the window.

"The Moddhey Dhoo," said Aidan. He sounded more puzzled than frightened. Then there was a great howl in the wind and Will felt fear in the cottage air. "Someone has brought him from out the castle."

"He is not ordinarily a Dark thing, the Moddhey Dhoo," said Calybrid.

Then the ghost dog was at the window - a huge, slathering beast bound by an ink black chain. This was not a beast that should be chained.

Will touched the rock wall of the cottage and it was cold. His heart stilled, for a moment, with the presence of the Dark.

"Will this wall keep the Dark out?" he asked Aidan.

"It might do."

"And 'twill answer to my sword," said Fin, unleashing a sword as long as she was from her pack. The blade hummed in the air.

"She is a true weapon," Will said. "If I can hold the dog at bay, can you slice the chain that holds him?"

Fin asked no questions. "I will," she said. Will pointed her to stand just inside the doorway. Fin's eyes were wide but her hand didn't tremble.

"Open the door," Will said to Aidan.

As Aidan opened the door, the dog's great black head and chest pushed through. The dog's eyes were pale blanks. His teeth pierced the air.

"Hold," said Will loudly.

For an instant the dog paused in its crashing progress. Its blank eyes turned toward Will. With a shrill wine Fin's sword sliced through the air and severed the dog's chain. The dog stood in place. His eyes cleared to brown and gold.

"Out of the doorway, creature," said Will. The dog obeyed. Will stepped around it and through the door. The council members followed. Outside was a man, holding the end of the chain now slack and useless in his hands.

"Kieran," said Aidan fiercely from behind Will.

The man looked at Will for a long moment. Aidan and Fin stepped forward. Then the night was empty. The man and his chain had disappeared.

"We should have known he'd be here," said Fin bitterly. "He has his own power, but it will never be enough. He wants to steal ours."

"Some days I'd give it to him," said Calybrid.

"You wouldn't," said Fin, turning to her.

"No, no. Indeed I wouldn't, Fin. Though these last few days it felt simpler to let go. People seek power so desperately, and having it feels like merely a battle to protect it."

Will understood her.

"Kieran Canell is the Chief Minister," continued Calybrid. "As was his father before him, and his father's father. As long as we've had government, we've had a Minister Canell to command it."

"Though none before loved the dark as this one," said Fin.

The ghost dog stood still inside Aidan's cottage. "Go ye home now, Moddhey Dhoo," said Aidan quietly. The dog turned and lumbered north and west toward his castle.

***

The next morning dawned clear and cool. Mary and James were as keen to explore as Will was. After the breakfast dishes were away, they pulled on thick jumpers to walk down into Douglas town. Mary stopped to rub Bert's ears. The cat followed them on soft paws, padding down the rough road and into town.

Across Douglas Bay, the Tower of Refuge stood upright against the pale sky. The tide was low. The Tower's rock foundation was wide and flat against the water.

The children and the cat walked on, south to Douglas Head. The bay wrinkled and winked at them. When they reached the headland they paused. Two reddish foxes were poised on the path, their eyes charcoal and unwinking.

Bert hissed. His orange and white fur stood in all directions so he appeared twice his true size. The foxes scampered off.

"They don't have foxes on Man," said James. "I read it in that book."

Will watched the foxes until they vanished over the hill. He took a breath.

"It's beautiful here," said Mary. She sounded reassuring.

The children walked across the headland. Several mountain ash trees grew straight from the grassy slope. Will touched the bark of the nearest tree. The power in the wood sizzled against his fingers.

Mary and James sat in the grass. They leant against sun-warmed rocks to watch the sea below. James was humming to himself. Will smiled internally as he joined them. There was something relaxing in the day, the day before the night.

A shadow fell across them. Will squinted upwards. Minister Canell was silhouetted against the sky. It was a surprise to see the Minister in the daylight. Canell seemed so human.

Will stood quickly.

"I like to welcome visitors," said Canell.

Mary and James blinked and then clambered to their feet.

"I'm the Chief Minister," said Canell to Mary and James. "It's not often we get strangers here. Certainly not strangers taking such an active interest in our Isle."

Mary and James looked at Will dubiously, then back at Minister Canell.

"You will not leave things be, Will Stanton?" asked Canell.

Will said nothing.

Minister Canell reached into his coat pocket and drew out a chain. The links of the chain clanged against one another. The chain trailed in Canell's hand, long and black.

"Get back behind the rocks," Will said urgently to Mary and James.

Minister Canell looped the chain in his hands. He spun it like a lasso. The links clattered through the clear air. The far end of the chain slipped into a crack on the slope and Canell tugged. He grunted with the effort.

As Will watched carefully, a huge ogre emerged from the crevasse. The ogre's body was covered in black hair. Its mouth was red and its eyes pale and pink. As the ogre moved forward Canell's chain pulled taut around its neck.

"The Buggane!" whispered James from behind the rock.

Will heart thudded violently within him as the Buggane turned toward his brother and sister. The beast rushed forward at a startling speed. Mary half screamed and grabbed James' arm. Mary and James backed to the edge of the headland, cliffs and the sea below them.

"Buggane! Beast!" called Will. The Buggane listened for a moment and turned back to Mary and James. Will called again, "Turn!" The beast turned to him. In that fraction Mary and James clambered over the cliff edge. They held fast to a ledge. Distracted, the Buggane turned back to Will and paused, primed for a fight.

Will watched the Buggane closely.

"You will find this monster is faster and craftier than you are," said Minister Canell to Will. "And now ye have not Fin's sword."

"No," said Will. "No, I think I'll have no need for it. This beast is stronger than your chain."

Will ran up the headland, faster than he could as a human boy. The Buggane burst after him, fingers stretched to tear at his flesh. With the Buggane just within reach Will circled a mountain ash. He ran back the way he had come. The chain wrapped around the tree and pulled as the Buggane followed. Minister Canell called out as the tree's power coursed through the chain. The tree groaned. It started to twist and fall. But even as the tree tumbled, the chain snapped in two.

The monster was free.

Will spoke to the Buggane. "Go Beast. Go underground from where you came. You are not a part of this battle." The Buggane left. The chain trailed behind him.

Canell glared at Will, his face tight with fury.

"This weapon has other uses, Old One," he said.

Canell lifted the remains of the chain and smashed it into the ground. The earth quivered and the edges of the cliff buckled. Will looked down to see Mary and James clinging just below the cliff.

Will focussed. It took all his powers to hold the ground steady beneath him.

"Go," he said urgently to Mary and James. "Go."

Will clambered down after them. He barely had energy to find hand and foot holds. His mind was fixed on holding the cliff face together. As he slid down the final few metres great chunks of rock slid down beside him. He raced across the slippery rocks at the cliff base after Mary and James.

He could hear Canell's furious shout behind him.

The tide was low - so low that the Tower of Refuge seemed to be standing on a great slab of flat rock. Yet the Tower was still surrounded by the Bay. Will looked blankly across the waters. His hands shook.

Suddenly a streak of orange skimmed past the children's feet. The cat had made his way down with them.

Bert started picking his way forward into the Bay. He stepped sure-footedly on rocks and sand bars Will would have missed. The cat's feet were wet and the waves lapped at his fur. Yet the cat was surefooted on sand and rock alike. The children followed. They trailed the cat between the waves, past the harbour wall and out into Douglas Bay.

As the walk went on every step was a struggle. Will was exhausted. The journey over sand and waves seemed many times its true distance.

At length they reached the Tower of Refuge. The waves were rising again. Bert leapt the rocks and James then Mary followed him. James reached a hand to help Will. There was strength in the grasp.

They climbed the rough stairs to the doorway. At the foot of the Tower, Will paused. James pushed the Tower door. It swung wide. James stepped in.

"Will?" Mary said uncertainly.

"I can't go in," said Will. "This place is for the protection of humans. It will not let me in."

The waves were rising faster than Will thought possible. He took a shaky breath. He had no power here. These fast-moving waters could not be controlled by the Light or the Dark.

"You're my brother, Will Stanton," said Mary. "I've known you since you were in nappies. You're as human as anyone else." She grabbed his arm and dragged him into the little fortress. Abruptly the place was opened to him.

The Stantons followed Bert up the stone stairs spiralling inside the Tower. At each floor there was a wooden door.

"Which one shall we take?" asked James, turning back.

"Go to the top," said Will.

They clambered up the remaining steps. James took the door handle and pulled. As the door swung open, mists poured through.

The tiny room was deep in fog. There was no light. Through the haze they heard the voice of an elderly man. "I'm afraid I cannot see my way out," he said.

Will's power returned, luminous within him. He spoke with assurance. "We're here to free you, Eamon of the Mists." He reached out and took the elderly man's hand.

Mary walked across the room and opened the shuttered window. Together they watched the haze dissipate through the open doorway and out the window. The mists hung over the sea about the Tower.

Below them the waves were moving in, climbing the tower walls to buffet the stone. But there was nothing fierce in them.

"It's like we were in a shipwreck," said James.

"Will anyone see us out here?" asked Mary.

"Calybrid will come," said Will. "She'll see the mists."

Sooner than even Will had hoped they saw a tiny boat, sails ablaze with white.

"The Wave Sweeper," said Eamon.

The boat skipped across the rising sea toward the Tower. When she reached the tower, Calybrid held the boat steady. The waves were high enough that the children could climb through the window and onto the boat's deck. Will helped Eamon. Mary held Bert in her arms.

"I don't think cats enjoy having their feet wet," she said.

The journey home was almost silent, though the sea was pounding. The children were exhausted. Calybrid concentrated on making land. Eamon looked through the misty air with bright eyes.

***

"And what of Canell?" asked Fin.

It was the morning of Hop tu Naa. Will and the council members were sitting in Eamon's tiny house, jutting out over the Bay.

"I fear you're stuck with him as Minister. He is human, and he has seen the limitations of his power," said Will. "You can be sure he will not be Minister forever."

There was a pause.

"A clever prison," said Calybrid patting Eamon on the knee. "Trapped by your own powers. And that Tower seems so clear out there on the Bay. Yet we could not see through those simple stone walls."

"There is a power in human things, built long ago," said Will.

The four council members looked across the Bay. The Tower of Refuge was hidden in the mist - Eamon's work.

"Thank you, Old One," said Eamon.

"I was led here," said Will. He thought of Merriman, and the homesickness he'd shared with Will.

***

The day faded sluggishly, clouds wrapping themselves around buildings and settling low in the harbour. The air was damp with mist. Will smiled to see it.

He sat by Calybrid in the stone house. Miss Gell, Mary, and James stood in the window, talking softly.

"You have not taken their memories?" Calybrid asked.

"I think I am tired of asking my family to forget," said Will. "Yet I cannot go home if they feel fear whenever they look at me."

"This sea is a kind of forgetfulness," said Calybrid. "They have already forgotten much. And I think you will find the ferry journey beneficial."

Will looked over at Mary and James. They were silhouetted, watching the mists dance across the harbour. Now and then he caught a sliver of conversation, or a burst of laughter. He smiled, but there was a loneliness in it.

"It's a hard thing, choosing to live for the Light rather than for everyday joys," said Calybrid. "A hard thing and not ordinarily a pretty thing. You will lose a great deal."

"Merriman has lost his home," said Will. "I have not had to give that up."

"Not yet," said Calybrid, "and maybe never." She nodded over at Miss Gell in the doorway with the two Stanton children. "As for me, I will lose someone who is as like to home as anything I know. When I met Isabel I was already an old woman, and yet she will die before me."

Will thought of his family - old - Mary and James gone long before him. There was sadness mixed with the pride.

"Listen, Will," said Mary.

The voices of the Manx children carried through the cool misty air. Miss Gell walked to the open door and raised her voice with them. After a moment Will and James joined her, Will's voice fluting through the room while James lent rich tones to the air. Soon Miss Faragher and Mary added their voices to the mix.

"This is the night!" they sang.

Will pictured Aidan, in his rough cottage and Fin, walking with the other children, yet always alone. He thought of Eamon, trailing Merriman's cloak of mists above Douglas Bay.

"This is the night," the voices continued.

The Isle paused to listen.

***


End file.
